Joshua 24:1-8, 14-15

The old year is passing and a new year is upon us. People often take stock at the New Year. They review the past year and make resolutions for the new.

In essence that is what Joshua is doing with the children of Israel in this passage. He is reminding them of all that God had done. He took them all the way back to Abraham and reminds them of how God blessed Abraham and created Israel. Then he reminds them of how God led the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and brought them to the Promised Land.

Finally, he challenges them. "Decided right now who you will serve. Will you serve the gods of the peoples? Or will you serve the one true God?" Then he said, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Well what can I say? God is Good! All the time. And all the time. God it good. God saw the plight of the human race lost in sin. And God sent his Son. We just celebrated the fact that he became one of us. Born as a homeless child to know firsthand our trials and to make God real in a wonderful way. God is Good! All the time. And all the time. God it good.

Jesus taught and healed. He called fishermen and tax collectors. He ate with sinners. He fed the multitudes and raised the dead. He told Nicodemus that he must be born again and he offered living water to a thirsty woman at the well. Then he sat down with his disciples and took bread and broke it and said "This is my body" and wine and said "This is my blood." God is Good! All the time. And all the time. God it good.

Then he died for our sins. Even as he died he prayed, "Father, forgive them." Her told the thief on the cross "You will be with me today in Paradise." Then he died. But on the third day he arose and appeared to his disciples in the breaking of the bread. God is Good! All the time. And all the time. God it good.

God has been good to us! So what will you do? You have a choice to make. Will you serve the gods of this world: the gods of wealth and power and popularity and consumption and materialism and meism? Or will you serve the God who came in the flesh to die for your sins.

We are beginning a new year. This is as good a time as any other to rededicate yourself to God! Choose you this day who you will serve.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!

John 15:1-8

It is important to be connected. Back in the 90's we talked about networking - making contacts with people. Then came cells phones and the internet. Networking was taken to a whole new level. Recently we had the 3G and then the 4 G networks.

I want to introduce you to the next big thing. It is the Ultimate G Network. Yes it is great to be able to surf the web and be connected to information. But the Ultimate G network allows you to access the knowledge of the universe. It is great to be able to email and text and share photos. The Ultimate G network allows you to be able to really connect with people.

We all know how important it is to communicate. But then there are the aps. There is truly al ap for everything. No matter what comes up in your life the Ultimate G Network has an ap for that. And it truly has global coverage. You will never drop a call on the Ultimate G network.

Being connected is important. If you don't believe me just listen to the Bible. Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower." To be fruitful the branches have to be connected to the vine. By being connected to the vine the branches can receive the nourishment they need to grow and thrive.

And as a result they can also produce fruit. They can grow love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We can also be connected to the one who created the universe. And through this connection we can also receive the help we need to deal with all of life's problems and well and the capacity to truly know all of life's joys. We can come to truly love our brothers and sisters in Christ.

But to do all that you have to be connected. The vine must be connected. If it is not connected it cannot produce fruit. Conversely if it does not produce fruit them being connected is fruitless. And it will be cut off.

As you might have guessed the Ultimate G network is not available through Sprint, or Verizon, or AT&T. And you don't need a cell phone with browsing capabilities. What you do need is an open and willing heart. Then you can have the Ultimate connection with God. Through that connection you can know the source of all wisdom and truth. Through that connection you have access to the fruits and the gifts of the spirit. You can plug into the power source of universe and find strength and help in time of need. Through that connection you can receive the gifts and abilities you need to have a truly abundant life and eternal life.

But you have to be connected. I suspect that you are connected otherwise you wouldn't be in church on New Years Eve. But you have to stay connected. The cost of the connection was paid for by Jesus on the Cross. But Jesus said that the unfruitful braches could be cut off. If you never download the aps and access the knowledge that is as good as cutting yourself off.

Get connected and stay connected this year. Make your connection to the vine a priority in your life. Read the Bible. Pray and meditate. Study, worship, serve. The Ultimate God Network is there for you to plug into. Download all that it offers this year. And be fruitful.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13

Time: We have an interesting relationship with time. We measure time down to the nanosecond. We race time. We fight time. Time is the enemy. We cherish the times we have with loved ones. We waste time. Time's a wastin' What time is it anyway?

But we really don't know time. The ancients had a different relationship with time. They knew not just about the kind of time that we measure and minuets and seconds, month and years. They knew of times. The right time, God's timing.

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." This is not timing like a schedule. It's not like from 2:30 to 3:30 is a time to laugh and then from 3:30 to 4:15 is a time to mourn. It is not so much time as timing. All things fall into their proper place in God's plan. All life is in God's hands.

We are here tonight to mark time. An old year is passing and a new one is starting. This past year there were times we mourned and times we laughed. There were times of silence and times and speaking. There were times of weeping and times of dancing.

And the same can be predicted about the year to come. But in the end we just have to let those times come and go and rejoice in it all. For "there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; moreover, it is God's gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil."

God is the Master of all time. He made it and he is beyond it. And he has given us this time. Let us dedicate ourselves and this new year to God. Let us remember that it is all in God's hand anyway. Let us simple rejoice in the time God has given us and eat and drink and take pleasure in our toil. Amen

Jeremiah 31:31-34

"The days are surely coming says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the House of Judah." (Jer. 31:31) A "new covenant?" What's a covenant? "Covenant" is just not a world that people use much now a days. Basically a covenant was an agreement of contract between two parties. We are familiar with contracts. Two people sign a piece of paper and agree to fulfill certain responsibilities.

In Bible times God drafted a contract with Israel. God promised to be their God and care for them. They promised to be his people and follow His will as described in the commandments recorded in the Bible.

The Old Testament in the Bible tells of how the people often failed to live up to their end of the bargain. In Israel God had bought a lemon. But it was not Israel's fault. They were only human. But even though people failed to live up to the contract God never let the people down. There were times that he allowed them to be conquered or experience hardship but God always preserved them and they have persevered until this day! God could have said, "You broke the contract! You can just disappear like al the other conquered nations. But God was true until the end.

Another word for Covenant is Testament. That brings us to the passage in Jeremiah that we just read. Jeremiah says that God is drafting a new contract, a new covenant, a new testament. The old testament was written on stones and the people often ignored those written words. Often times they misunderstood or were led to misunderstand them. The laws were an expression of God's will, yet they could not see their true meaning.

But this new covenant is different. It is not written on stones that can be misread or ignored. God will write it on the people's hearts. Their own hearts within them will bear witness. The truth of God will be communicated directly to them by the Holy Spirit of God.

And God would forgive their sins! Yes they will still fall short. But their forgiveness will be assured.

We the present day church, are the fulfillment of that prophesy. Jesus came and died for our sins to pay for the price for our salvation. And he promised the Holy Spirit to all His believers. That Holy Spirit communicates with our hearts and helps us to see the true will of God.

Some refer to this as the covenant or Grace; most simply call it the New Testament. It is a contract signed in the blood of Christ who came to be our mediator in this matter. We fail on our part of the contract but that failure is covered by Jesus' righteousness. The basic contract is the same. God says I will be your God and care for you like a good shepherd and you will be my people and follow me like loyal sheep.

We are here today to reaffirm that New Testament as this New Year begins. Our salvation is not dependant on our ability to fulfill our side of the contract. But we still want to live up to it as much as is humanly possible. And with God's help we can. So let us reaffirm our relationship with God our father Christ our brother and the Holy Spirit that by grace lives in us.